Few people realize there is a special, important technique of studying grammar: to look for the reasons behind the rules. Here we can see the word "home" is accepted as a noun for the following reasons.
1. Its outlook suggests that it is a noun.
2. The four positions it occupies show it is a noun.
i) It stands before a verb.
The tiger's home is the jungle.
ii) It comes after a transitive verb.
The new couple made their home in Paris
iii) It stays behind a linking verb.
My house became my new dog's home.
iv) It follows a preposition.
We were a long way from home.
Yet, "home" in these sentences are not nouns. Don't you know the reasons?
The home team won.
We came home at 1pm.
Overseas troops homed in after the war.
3. It is a sure way to find out a noun in a reverse order by focusing on the verbs and prepositions first. Before a verb, after a transitive verb, a linking verb or a preposition, there is a noun.
So, is "easy" a noun or an adjective or an adverb in the following sentences? Why?
Easy does it.
Easy come, easy go.
Again, is "shopping" a noun (gerund), or an adjective in this sentence? Why?
I'll go shopping.
In the course of studying grammar a learner is required to think of the reason actively, and a "why" should be always in her mind.
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